Suo Aburame- Extended
by LokiHatake
Summary: This is a story that I recently posted under another title with a bunch of ideas I hadn't worked on in a while. I am working on it now and extending it from the basic form it can be found under in the other section.
1. Years 0-5

Suo Aburame yrs 0-5

Gabriel had no clue how he had ended up as a baby. It probably had something to do with that fucked up archway his older half-brother had shoved him through when they'd gone with their father to his job at the Dept. of Mysteries. All he'd known was that he'd woke up as a baby in an alley in some strange place, unable to understand a word. He didn't know how old he was, but given the fact that he couldn't really move - like at all- he had to be close to newborn if not a newborn. Deciding to do what most babies did to get attention he let out a plaintive cry. It wasn't half a minute later when someone stepped into the alley he was in. It was a young woman who appeared to have been crying recently.  
She blinked when she caught sight of him before cautiously approaching him. She glanced around suspiciously before picking him up and checking him over - damn it, he hadn't realized he was naked! - and then cradled him to her chest. Then she did something unexpected. She jumped- yes jumped- to the roof to their left and began heading that way, jumping from roof to roof. A few minutes later she dropped down in front of what he thought might be a hospital and carried him in. It was a hospital.  
A nurse in pale grey scrubs took him from the lady and into another room to be checked over. He was given an exam before a warm bottle was shoved into his mouth. He cursed the baby reflexes as he immediately began to suckle it, only then realizing just how hungry he was. The nurse said something and the woman hesitated briefly before shaking her head no. The nurse gave a sharp nod before picking him up and carrying him away to be placed in a crib alongside several other cribs. Most contained toddlers but only one other had a newborn. He was placed next to the newborn. He looked over to find a black haired infant sleeping quietly. He settled down and went to sleep. Hopefully this would make more sense in the morning, or all be a dream.

* * *

Suo crawled around his area of the room, making sure to knock into as many things as possible. The older orphan sitting a few feet away twitched with each noise he made, concentration breaking from his attempt at meditation. He opened his eyes to glare half heartedly at Suo. Suo did his best to look innocent, giving his two teeth grin to the older boy. The stern expression broke a few seconds later.  
Junta moved over to him and picked the toddler up to hold in his lap.  
If you wanted my attention you didn t have to interrupt my meditation. Suo grinned up at him and clapped his hands together. He was working on sentences, but he knew if he moved too fast the creepy man with the bandages, or the black haired one that looked like a snake may take him. He blessed his highly noticeable red hair for why he hadn t been snatched up yet. Junta stood up with Suo in his arms and spun around making wooshing noises. Suo gave a happy little squeal and let the older boy baby him for a while before demanding to be put down. Satisfied that he d annoyed the older boy enough he moved on to other targets.

Suo, it turned out, was the bane of the older orphans from the moment he could move about without much aid. When he started walking, earlier than most but not enough to take notice, he was an absolute terror. If his watcher turned their back for a second he d be gone. Tracking him down became a common chore for the Academy age orphans. Babysitting was more common with the older civilian ones who hadn t trained to be Shinobi but were yet to be old enough to leave.  
Junta was the only one who could both track him down, and keep him in line. Suo had a soft spot for the older boy who reminded him of his eldest sister from his old life. He was kind, patient, and a knack for knowing the right thing to say at the right time. It broke the toddlers heart when Junta finally graduated the Academy and left to be a Shinobi. He died before Suo turned three, yet another casualty of the Third Shinobi War. It was his death that nurtured a desire in Suo to find peace.  
Suo liked people, liked to watch them, learn from them, and about them. Even in his past life he could often be seen sitting in windows just staring out at the world outside. In this life, Suo had quickly found that he always, always knew when someone was nearby. He used this little gift to escape his sitters, and to sneak around the orphanage in the wee hours and get ahold of books in the small library the Matron kept for teaching letters and words to the slightly older children. He used them to learn the language.  
Over time Suo realized that some people felt different then others. Where the majority of people had a wilder taste to them when he felt them. Some of the adults and older teens, and the older Academy students, had a more refined one. Where the matron just tasted gritty, and like putting a stone in your mouth, Junta, had tasted like wood smoke and hickory. Like putting a wood chip in your mouth and letting the flavor surround your taste buds. In essence, they both tasted like the earth, just one was cleaner than the other.  
He didn t know what this little gift meant, just knew it was something he should probably work on. And he had nothing but time until he was old enough to choose his path in life.

* * *

Suo grumbled from his place up in the tree. He was avoiding his minder. The fifteen year old, older teen had called him a useless baby so Suo deemed the girl unworthy of listening to. He didn t care that he d probably get in trouble for it later. The four year old looked up when he felt someone approach and found and older boy, looking to be about 13 was standing in front of a large black stone partially covered in kanji and hiragana. Suo shifted slightly to get a better look at him.  
The boy had short, silver hair sticking up at impossible angles and a mask covering the bottom half of his face. His left eye was hidden behind bandages and he had multiple other wounds bandaged over his body. Suo looked back at the stone in understanding. The boy must have lost someone, this was that stone the older kids were always telling him about. Suo decided he wanted to know if Junta was on it, so he shimmied out of the tree.  
The silver haired boy looked surprised to see him walk up to him, glancing around in surprise to make sure no one else would suddenly pop up. Suo squinted up at the stone, but the letters were too high up for him. He turned to the older boy tugging slightly at his sleeve to bring his attention back down. The teen looked down with a frown.  
What? Suo pointed up at the stone before speaking, doing so slowly so that he didn t mispronounce it as he was prone to doing.  
Is the name Junta on there? The boy blinked his lone eye once before turning back to the stone and looking over it, reading rapidly. He paused three lines up from the bottom and pointed to it. Suo stood on his toes but was still too short to see it. He turned to the boy and held up his arms in silent question. The teen gave a put upon sigh before bending down and lifting him up so he could see it, pointing to it again.  
Suo stared at the name for a second before reaching forward slowly to place a hand on it.  
I m sorry you didn t get your dream, Junta, I promise to do it for both of us. He nodded to himself and wiggled so that the older boy put him down. With a shallow bow to the older boy he made his way back to his hiding place, ignoring the boy s eyes following him. They didn t talk again, or an any of the weeks that followed.


	2. Years 5-7

Gabriel-Suo (crimson red) now for his hair color- hid in the alley where he'd been when people had begun to panic and run towards the Hokage monument. He'd hidden behind a dumpster, overlooked with all the people rushing past. He was terrified of the rage emitting from the very air, though the streets nearest him were silent now. Not too far away he could hear a battle raging. Earlier he'd heard screams about a 'Fox' but was confused as to why a small canine animal could be terrifying. If it was emitting that rage he could understand it now. With his eyes squeezed shut he was unaware of the fact that the air around him had begun to glow as red tendrils of chakra snaked towards him and began sinking beneath his skin, all he felt was an uncomfortable itchiness.  
A sudden roar far above his head and the sound of feet running in his direction had him up and running. He'd only made it about half a block when a giant paw dropped down in front of him, blocking his way. Shaking in terror he looked straight up to find himself almost directly above what had to be the largest red fox he'd ever seen. It had to be at least twenty stories high. It was taller than the Hokage Tower! The air around it began to glow as something formed in its mouth and Suo stumbled backwards, trying to get away. The air around him seemed to twist faster as whatever it was grew. The air around him turned solid red as he finally noticed it attempting to sink into his body. He couldn't help it, he shrieked.  
His yell caught the attention of Shinobi nearby, there was an outcry before a green clad figure, looking to be about 15 at most, darted to him and attempted to grab him. The teen wrenched his hand back in shock as the very air seemed to burn him. Suo's fear seemed to make the strange occurrence worse as it began moving faster, swirling at insane speeds and all but pouring into him. It hurt, oh kami did it hurt. His shriek turned into screams as the red seemed to boil, throwing the green clad teen back before it erupted upwards in a spire from his form. The giant fox yelled out in pain and rage as it jerked back in shock, backing away several steps until it was out of direct range, its steps taking it outside the village perimeter due to its sheer size.  
Some part of Suo realized that it was the fox that was causing the pain. Even as the red aura continued to pour into him he held out a hand towards the giant beast. Red chakra, darker even than the foxes, shot from his palm and out towards the fox. It collided with the black ball forming in its mouth. The conflicting energies shoved Suo back into a wall and the fox back another few steps before the ball turned a near black crimson and erupted. There was a wrenching scream- from both Suo and the Fox- the Fox tore apart in a cloud of pure chakra that quickly dispersed across the sky. In its place was a crater six stories deep and over a mile wide just outside the village. Suo collapsed to the ground, body smoking as chakra burns appeared along his skin, depicting his entire chakra network. His eyes were the worst, starting from the pupil his entire iris slowly burned black before the whites followed, leaving them looking like one was staring into the abyss.  
Whimpers poured continuously from his throat, it was the only sound aside from the fires that still raged in the forest surrounding the village, and pieces of the wall breaking away and falling to the ground. Finally, the red aura disipated from around him and his whimpers quieted slightly as the pain to his nerves lessened to an extent. A shaking hand reached down from a figure kneeling by his side and turned him over. He had no clue who did it as his world was entirely black. He only knew someone was there by the taste of the chakra on his throat, a sense he'd had since his 'birth' here even if he didn't know what it was exactly. Orphans didn't start the Academy until they turned six, and Shinobi didn't talk to Civilians about such things. All he knew was that he always knew when someone was near him, and if they were Shinobi or not, because Shinobi all felt different. Their 'taste' was more refined.  
He felt a hand brush his hair from his eyes before there was a faint gasp. Someone else moved up to them before he felt a warmth on his skin. He was fine with that until their chakra touched his own chakra network. His scream was blood curdling. The hands jerked back as if the person had been slapped and he heard apology after rapid apology as hands hesitantly tried to sooth him with soft touches. Eventually the screams tapered off, but the pain from before had returned tenfold.  
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry little one. Hokage-sama. He's too sensitive, I can't, we'll have to wait and try to do something without healing techniques."  
"Do whatever you can, Meyumi. We owe him."  
Suo faded in and out as he was moved, the only constant was that first chakra signature and the cries of an infant. The infant confused him. Why was there an infant?

* * *

There was a beeping noise nearby. He could smell disinfectant. His memories of this life, and the one time he'd been in a muggle hospital in his past life, told him it was a hospital. He opened his eyes and then reached up only to brush the bare skin of his face. He frowned. He blinked his eyes, felt them move, but he didn't see anything. He sensed someone nearby and turned in that direction, knowing he was looking at someone, but he still saw nothing. The person moved and he followed it, head turning to keep it in front of him. It stopped and moved closer. He felt a breeze on his face and scowled.

* * *

Hawk waved his hand in front of the boy's face again, but there was still no reaction from the boy's eyes. He was facing him, but the black of his eyes, and the barely noticeable pupils, never reacted. The child could somehow see him without actually seeing him. Working off a hunch he pulled a senbon from his pocket and placed a chakra intensive genjutsu on it before setting it down on a table and masking his own chakra signature. The child frowned at the senbon, focused on it before he seemed to scan the room. He brushed over Hawk's place several times before stopping just to his side. Hawk sidestepped silently and the child slowly turned to follow the movement, still off by about a foot, but within his vicinity. So a strong sensitive then. Being blind would only magnify that. He made a mental note to let Minato-sama know that when he came in for his usual daily visit.

* * *

Suo was getting frustrated. The person who was in here with him kept 'fading' to little more than a ghost like sense before popping back up just to the side of where he thought they were. He was getting closer every time, but they still kept doing it. Like they were testing him or something. He'd gotten frustrated enough earlier to try and throw something at whoever it was. That was when he realized just how weak he was. The whine that had escaped his throat at the sudden dull pain from his protesting muscle had drawn a nurse. Said nurse had looked him over and given him a drink. He'd ignored her for the most part until she'd left. She hadn't so much as reacted to the other presence. He was starting to think that the guy was invisible somehow. Though the presence of the nurse had confirmed his belief that he was blind.  
It was some time after lunch had been brought, and that had been quite the experience considering how difficult eating blind turned out to be, when a new person appeared. The figure paused just inside the doorway for a minute when the original became fully noticeable for all of a minute before disappearing. Then whoever it was came over to the chair next to his bed and sat down.  
"Hello, little one. The Matron at the Orphanage tells me your name is Suo. That right?"  
"Hai." Suo's voice was rough, and his throat hurt, but it wasn't as bad as it had been before the nurses last visit.  
The man shifted forward in his seat.  
"My name is Minato. I have a couple of questions if that's alright, Suo."  
His tone was one you would use with a particularly young child. Suo frowned at him.  
"I'm not stupid. Just ask already."  
"Alright." The man's voice had just the slightest edge of amusement, as if he'd dealt with overly bright children before. "Tell me what you remember."  
Suo reflexively looked in the direction of his hands, in his lap, as he usually did when he was thinking. It was habit whether he could see his hands or not. He took a deep breath as he organized his thoughts.  
"I had been playing on the street. I like to sit on the tops of stairwells and stuff to guess about people."  
"Guess?" Minato asked softly, as if unsure whether interrupting would upset him. Suo 'looked' back at him for a moment before answering, feeling nervous for some reason.  
"If they're Shinobi." He twisted his hands together. "Some people feel different, different... I guess 'taste' works, even if I don't actually 'taste' people."  
Minato made an understanding noise.  
"Can you 'taste' the difference in everyone or just if they're Shinobi?"  
Suo tilted his head in thought.  
"Everyone tastes different," he began slowly, trying to put it into words. "Some people taste light, others heavy, there's a... aftertaste maybe? You taste like mint, light, like pine during winter. Guy over there is heavy, dark, like molasses and dirt. The one that's outside the door is dark too, warm, embers and ash."  
Minato thought that over for a minute before speaking.  
"What happened next?"  
Suo let out a breath.  
"I heard someone scream. Something about a fox. I was confused, stopped for a moment. Then the air got heavy and people started running. I was scared." His eyes closed involuntarily in remembrance. "It was so angry... I didn't understand how someone could be that angry, that... hurt... he was hurt, and angry because of it. I was terrified, so I ran into the alley, and I hid. I used to do it a lot, made it harder for the Academy kids in the Orphanage to find me. I'd just kind of... fade away, and they couldn't find me."  
Suo's hands flexed as his sightless eyes darted around, images flickering past of fire, and fear, and rage like nothing he'd ever known before.  
"My skin started feeling itchy, like when you get a sun burn and it starts to peel, like its too small. I heard a roar, and people running. When I opened my eyes everything had a red fog around it. I ran for it. Something big dropped in front of me, blocking the way. A paw. I looked up, and he was just there."  
Suo's breathing was beginning to grow more rapid as he lost himself in the memory.  
"I tried to back away, to run again. But then the air, it was like it was on fire, and trying to crawl inside me. It hurt, it hurt..." He shuddered in a deep breath before continuing. "The guy, in the green, he tried to grab me. He surprised me, and it got worse. It hurt before, but after... it was like being the log in the middle of the bonfire, the big one that is there almost to the end before it turns to ash. What couldn't pour into me poured out. Then he, the fox, he looked at me. And I knew... knew it was him that made it hurt. So I threw it back at him. I didn't want it, but it just kept pouring in, so I threw it back."  
He startled when he felt a hand lightly grip his own, having been unaware of Minato moving to sit on the bed beside him. He took a deep breath and continued.  
"I remember falling, and someone touching me, they did something, and it hurt like the red fog all over again. I don't remember much after that. Just your chakra, and a baby crying. Why was a baby out there?"  
He was confused, why would a baby be in a battlefield? Minato tightened his grip for a moment before speaking.  
"Thank you, Suo. What you did? It saved a lot of people. You stopped him from getting more than a street into the village, and abandoned street. A lot of my Shinobi are alive because of you."  
Suo nodded tightly, exhausted all of a sudden. Minato brushed his bangs behind his ears before standing up.  
"Why don't you get some sleep? I'll be back to check on you later. Alright?"  
"Alright..."  
Suo laid down and fell into an exhausted slumber interspersed with vivid nightmares of a red fog that tore at him again and again.

* * *

Suo held tightly to Minato's hand as the man led him to his new home. He'd been told a few days before that he was 'Chakra Sensitive' and was being placed with a Clan to be sure that he got proper training for it. Minato was taking him there now. Apparently, the Nara Clan was well known for their ability to sense chakra both with and without their Shadow Techniques. The Uchiha Clan also had a few well known Chakra Sensitives, but he wasn't being placed with either. Instead, he was being placed with a Clan who were also Chakra Sensitive, being that nearly all of them could sense Chakra even if no one knew about it.  
He was being placed with the Aburame Clan. He had been surprised to learn that a set number of individuals of the Aburame Clan, a rare few with a type of insect that were bred with the ability to use echolocation, were blind. He was being placed with a user with that particular breed. The walk was quiet as Suo was taking the time to adjust to having to take someone else s lead so that he wouldn't run into anything. He ducked shyly as they were led into the Clan compound. He lifted his free hand closer to his face, staring at a small speck of chakra that was moving on his skin. He glanced up when someone moved closer and then jerked back into Minato in shock. The person, whoever they were, had millions of the little dots moving on and -inside- him. The man stayed completely still and waited.  
Hesitantly, Suo moved forward and lightly touched the man's arm, finding cloth in the way. He frowned slightly before tracking a stray dot moving near the mans wrist, tracing its path with a finger. He released Minato's hand to reach for the dot on his own hand. The dot stilled so that he could touch it. It was smooth, but felt somewhat fragile. There was a slight pattern to it, like overlapping layers protected by an outer shell. His mind whirled as he put the information together and came up with only one answer.  
"Bug." He said quietly, carefully lifting the small insect upon the tip of a finger. The man carefully, slowly, reached forward to take the bug and place it on his sleeve where it joined the rest.  
"Hai." His voice was toneless, and blunt. Suo tilted his head slightly, angling his 'gaze' up to where the man's face would be.  
"Arigato."  
The man slowly reached out and moved his hand to in front of Suo's face. A bug settled onto his nose and skittered across his brow and eyelids for a moment before returning to the man.  
"You are blind."  
"Hai."  
Suo was surprised to feel a hand softly pat his head before the man left with a soft goodbye. Suo let Minato take his hand and lead him onward again. Minato had been quiet throughout the exchange but 'tasted' happy with the way the conversation had went. Suo gave a mental eye roll and kept quiet.

Takeshi was waiting for them in the Clan Head's home. Minato made pleasentries with the Clan Head, Shibi, spoke quietly with Minato for a time before Suo was sent with Takeshi back to his new home, a small building not too far away. None of the buildings in the Clan Compound were far apart, being placed in spirals around the central building used for the main hives. Takeshi's home with his wife Tsuki was placed near a darker back corner of the building. Attached to it was a blacked out building that Suo was informed held Takeshi's own hive, as said hive was grown too large for his body alone. It was then when Suo was informed what his adoption into the Clan could entail with Suo's agreement.  
"Most of the Kikaichu need to be placed within the body at birth as the Queens nest within the Chakra Core. However, the 'Hibiku' or 'Echo' hive Queens are much smaller than the other Kikaichu Queens. As such, they can be placed within the host up until the age of seven with little difficulty. It is also possible for them to be added into an already existing hive, but such instances are rare."  
Suo bit his lip, he knew where this was going.  
"You want me to form a hive."  
"Hai."  
Suo wrung his hands for a minute.  
"What if I don't have enough Chakra to support them?"  
Takeshi seemed to consider for a moment before speaking.  
"Usually, children in your age range have very low Chakra reserves, with an Aburame's only being a bit higher due to the presence of the Hive. However, you have a very high Chakra Reserve. This may be due to having hosted so much of the Kyuubi's chakra, but it is also possible that you had a naturally high reserve to begin with. As it stands, your reserves are comparable to that of an Elite Jonin. You would easily be able to host a Hive and still be capable of using high level jutsu."  
Suo blinked in shock. He had that much chakra? He gnawed on a lip in thought for a few more minutes before nodding.  
"Okay. I'll do it."

* * *

Suo listened closely as his adoptive Father explained what would be happening. He was a bit nervous about having to be put to sleep for the procedure. Transferring the Queen and her Drones was a simple process, but it was quite painful for someone who had never had a Hive before. Tekashi explained softly that even though he would be sedated he may still be able to feel something as he wouldn t be completely under. It was dangerous to put someone under when doing this procedure. It was why it was usually done on babies rather than adults and older children.  
He was scared, but he refused to back down from something that would help him both now and later on in life. Suo still hadn t adjusted to the Aburame way of speaking so bluntly. Takeshi s wife, Tsuki, who had married into the Clan tried explaining it in a way he would understand.  
The Aburame had never known life without their Kikaichu. Their mind did not work the way other people would. Insects had no place for anything that was unnecessary. As such, aside from mandatory social necessities they did not hold to material things or to frivolities. Suo had trouble wrapping his mind around such thoughts and had grumbled that he doubted Kikaichu would change him all that much. Tsuki laughed and said that he may change more than he thought, but he had been alone in his mind too long to be completely like them.

Suo took a deep breath of the medicinal tasting air in the breathing mask placed over his place and felt the world around him dull. As he continued breathing it continued to fade away until he was barely even aware of his own body. He drifted for an interminable time before he felt a dull push against the skin just under his floating rib. When it faded away he became aware of something moving about in the vicinity of the area, moving upward.  
It didn t hurt exactly, the anesthetic to strong to allow for pain, but it was the most comfortable feeling either. The feeling stopped near the center of his chest and stayed there for a while. Just when he thought it was over, a single dot seemed to decide to move higher. It burrowed deeper into him until it met his spine and then headed up. The higher it got the more he wanted to squirm, but the numbness of his limbs wouldn t allow for it. It became particularly uncomfortable when it reached the base of his skull. If he d been able to move he would have jerked at the sudden painful pinch when it burrowed beneath his skull and came to rest in the vicinity of his cerebellum.  
All movement within him ceased immediately and he waited, hoping it was over. It could have been minutes, hours, days, he wasn t sure, before he noticed it. There was a soft buzzing in the back of his thoughts, weak and uncertain, but there. He cautiously reached for the sensation with his mind and was surprised when it seemed to reach out in return. He brushed against it and had a brief disorientation before he was swamped by the thoughts of half a dozen simpler minds, and one almost sentient one. That last, Queen he instinctually labeled, linked more fully with his. With that connection he was able to better understand the others.  
_'You. Us. We. Suo would have blinked if he could_.'  
'We?' He felt a smug superiority from the Queen before she turned her attention back to the Drones who had already set to work making his body into their home. Now that he was connected to them she was able to dull the sensations nearly completely, the numbing secretions of the Drones erasing what was left. Suo became lost for a time in their work, following it along, listening and learning as the Queens memories drifted with his own. There were so many that he became confused, surely, she hadn t lived so long?  
_'Previous. All before. Teach. All after._' Suo gave a mental frown to that. He considered it for a moment before the implication set in.  
Genetic Memory. The Queen carried all the memories of the previous Queens, all the knowledge passed on by the Drones, everything this Hive and all the Hives it descended from had ever known. He was humbled by the amount of knowledge these tiny little beings were capable of containing.  
_'We. Teach. Learn. Together. Always._' Suo gave a mental smile and a feeling of acceptance, happy to have found someone or something that would be a constant in this new life. With that thought he sent a questioning thought to the Queen.  
'My memories?'  
_'Queen. Only next. Only hatchling_.' Suo breathed a sigh of relief, it would stay with him then. At least until he had a child of his own. The Queen brushed her thoughts against his own.  
_'Sleep. We work_.'

Suo rose groggily to the surface of his mind and mentally reached out for the Queen. She sent back reassurance and a jumbled image of gray-scale impressions. When he frowned she pulled up memories of previous Hosts, overlaying them onto his own understanding of the images. The gray-scale suddenly made sense. It was the echolocation of the room around him. He sent a shaky thank you to her.  
She gave him several minutes to adjust to being able to see before bringing his attention back to the Hive. He was surprised that it had grown while he slept. Where before it was less than a dozen, now it was almost four dozen and growing. The Queen turned her attention to him completely.  
_'Up. Grow. Colony. Kikaichu. Must. New_.' It took him a minute to decipher the images that followed, but got the gist of it.  
The Drones had already made burrows to the surface of his skin and the Queen required another type of Kikaichu to finish preparing the Host. He would need to go to the Central Hive, the central building of the compound. He sat up on the bed and followed the Queen's directions over to the table that held his clothes and carefully dressed. Still barefoot he left the room, being met at the door by another Aburame who simply nodded in greeting and followed along behind him as he made his way to the Central Hive. Their path was uninterrupted, and when he entered the building with his escort he found Takeshi and Shibi, the Clan Head already waiting.  
Ignoring them for now, knowing that they wouldn t mind somehow, he moved to the center of the building and sat down. A full dozen of his Drones crawled out of his skin and spread out into the room, moving to different Colonies situated around the room. While they were gone a small number of Kikaichu flew over him from a Gourd held in Shibi s hand. A brief trade of thought with his Queen told him the swarm contained a pair of Kikaichu for each member of the Clan, a welcoming gift as all newborns were given such when they were first given Kikaichu. It would allow him to communicate with all other members of the Clan Hive.  
Understanding now what was going on he didn't fight as the swarm settled on him and burrowed in having to widen the existing ones so that the larger insects could become a part of his Hive. They were mostly Kikaichu with a few other, random ones. Some were Hibiku, a single pair were Exploding bugs, and six were a type of long lived one that were metallic and had camouflage abilities. The Queen seemed happy with these and immediately began integrating them in. It wasn t too much later that the original Drones returned. With them were many more Kikaichu and several small swarms of various other varieties, including six wasp-like Kikaichu what settled on the surface of his skin and waited for the others to be integrated before attempting to gain the Queen s acceptance. The Queen turned her attention to Suo.  
_'Wasps. Poisonous. Larger. Pain. Control. No control. Death._' Suo frowned reaching mentally for the Queen and beyond to the wasps.  
'Obey?' He got a strong affirmative and a jumble of images. The Queen deciphered them in a fraction of the time it would have taken him.  
_'Wasps. Alone. No Hive. No Host. Previous gone.'_ Suo gave a mental sigh before asking if the Queen was fine with them. She was quiet for a time before giving an affirmative and telling the wasps they could join, but would remain in the center of the Hive until she said otherwise. They quickly accepted and burrowed into him, widening the burrows located on the inside of his elbows to allow for their passage. Once settled in his chest they stilled.  
The Queen finished integrating her new Drones and the lesser Queens for the new varieties before linking his mind to theirs. Almost 500 Kikaichu of various varieties. The majority were regular Kikaichu or Hibiku. The Exploding pair were the only of their kind and were integrated as part of the last line of defense for the Host. The wasps were regulated as messengers for now as they would do nothing else until Suo's control of them were certain. When he came back to proper awareness his Takeshi was standing to the right, just in front of him and behind Shibi who was standing directly in front of him. Suo stood up, one of his Drones moving to rest on Shibi s hand as it raised up for him to inspect it. He communicated with it for a bit before it returned to Suo.  
_'Clan Hive Queen_.' His own Queen informed him. Shibi carried the Clan Hive Queen. Should he have a child, that child would carry the next Hive Queen. Now that Shibi had accepted Suo's Hive the small boy's awareness stretched out to brush against the warmth of every other Clan member within the compound. He was amazed by just how vast the cumulative Hive really was. It was far more minds than he would ever be able to handle and he had a new respect for Shibi who was at least subconsciously aware of every single bug and member in the Hive. He must have transmitted that thought somehow because the man nodded to him before letting his new Father move forward to collect him. Suo knew then, with how small his personal Hive was, that he had a long way to go.


	3. Years 7-10 Part 1 of 2

Suo Aburame Years 7-10 Part 1/2

Suo frustratedly kicked at the training post. He'd been working with his Hive for months and been unable to get them completely spread through his system. It had been discovered earlier that day as to the reason why. A consequence of hosting so much of the Kyuubi's chakra was that his own Chakra was much heavier than normal and had a slight corrosive property to it that made it impossible for the insects to spread to the far reaches of his tenketsu where the chakra thinned out and the corrosive property became more evident. Because of this the insects were confined mainly to the center of his body. Their farthest reach was to his elbows and knees. Any farther and the insects would die out. The newer generations showed a strong resistance to the demonic-like chakra, but they were still unable to spread any farther. The final result was that Suo would always have the smallest Hive of the Clan. Even the younger children had larger Hives then his own.  
He stilled as his Father's messenger reached him. He read the message with a sigh and a tired little smile. He picked up the tools he'd been using to work out his frustration and put them away. The bug his father had sent was one that had been bred out of his own. The small Hive had spread partially into his Father's Hive, a few moving out to join with the main Hive in the central building. The only upside to his rather specified Clan was that they tended to live slightly longer than average and were breeding their resistance into the other Hives. Shibi had requested that he take in small numbers of Insects from the other species and breed the resistance into them as well. As such, he was always carrying a Hive Gourd on his back that had been split into several chambers to house the different breeds he was cultivating. Once they showed a strong resistance half of the Hive would migrate back to the main Hives to be replaced. Eventually, all of the Hives would carry the resistance, minimal contact with Suo would make sure that the resistance didn't fade out over time. At seven years old, Suo was happy to have found a Clan that had taken him in and treated him as their own. He had thought it was obligation at first, but his own Hive informed him he was being stupid, the Hive protected and cared for the Hive. And even though the Clan was made of many, many Hives they were all one Hive.

* * *

Suo was sitting in front of the Memorial Stone, meditating, when he felt a familiar presence approach. He paused, wondering if he should zip his jacket back up. It was hanging slightly open on his chest as he d dropped it so that he could cool slightly in the heat. It revealed his undershirt and as such several of the burrow holes located on his shoulders and sternum. It hadn t dropped far enough to show the ones in his arms. His Queen quickly informed him of who it was.  
Silver haired boy. Memorial Stone. Junta. Suo blinked and shifted his head in the other boy s direction. The other boy, young adult really as he registered as near 16 to the Hive senses. Paused for a second before stepping closer. Suo was surprised to hear the male speak.  
Didn t you have gray eyes before? Suo blinked again and scratched his head. He shrugged.  
Hai. They changed during the Kyuubi attack. The male paused at that before nodding.  
I m Hatake Kakashi. Aburame Suo. He could taste the male s confusion.  
Aburame? Adopted. Kakashi nodded before standing next to him. Suo zipped his jacket closed, knowing most people found it disturbing. Kakashi didn t speak again so Suo returned to his meditation.  
He was working with his wasps. The half dozen had grown to three dozen since he d started working with them and were the most obedient of all his Hive. They understood instinctually that disobedience meant their death as the rest of the Hive would destroy them to protect the Host. Three of the Drones slid out of a burrow in his sternum and hovered in front of his face before shooting off in different directions on their appointed tasks. While they were gone he pulled several of his smaller Drones out and sent them in search of possible additions to his Hive. When the trio did finally return he had just finished incorporating a small set of moths into his main Hive. The wasps waited for him to finish before transferring their combined mental map of the village. Suo compared it to the one provided by the Queen before sending out acceptance to the wasps who returned to their place in the Hive.  
Finished with his training exercise Suo made his goodbyes to Kakashi and headed for the Clan compound.

* * *

Suo had just entered the Clan Head house, requested by Shibi for their usual meeting to trade off part of his Hive, when a door opened just beside him and a small boy stumbled out and into him. They both jerked back immediately but the damage had already been done. When the boy had made contact, Torune, several of his nano sized Kikaichu had transferred to Suo s skin. There was a brief flare of Suo s chakra as his Hive immediately moved to defend him from the hostile foreign Kikaichu. Neither boy moved, waiting. Torune was already cringing into the wall expecting the worse.  
When Suo didn t feel any different after several moments he turned his head to check his arm. His Queen spoke up.  
_'Immune. Corrosive Chakra. Poison neutralized. Kikaichu request admittance to Hive_.' Suo blinked before sending one of his Drones to Shibi. The man appeared quickly, looking closely at both Suo and Torune before backing up and motioning them into the main part of the house. Suo had a brief conversation with his Queen before turning to Shibi.  
"My Queen says that she can send several Drones to Torune to help him gain control of his Hive. As they are from the main Hive they carry a small portion of my chakra and will be able to survive long enough to integrate into the hive and gain immunity. Queen says that they ll be able to transfer the proper memories to his Hive for him to gain control."

Shibi stilled as he conversed with his own Queen before nodding sharply. Suo turned his attention to his Queen and told her to accept the nanos. She did so and immediately pulled a portion of his chakra away to begin producing a new generation from within his Hive. Once she was certain the new breed would survive she transferred the necessary memories to several of her first born Drones and a few of the new generation of nanos and sent them back to Torune. The toddler stilled as they integrated into his Hive. All three watched closely as the purple tint to his skin slowly began to fade away to nothing.  
This seemed to exhaust the boy as he immediately started drooping. With a nod from Shibi, Suo picked up the boy and carried him to his room. He wasn t surprised when the boy started crying at the contact, most likely not having human contact since the death of his father. Once the boy was asleep Suo returned to Shibi. Hopefully, the trade would help the boy. He just didn t know how much.

* * *

Suo studied his teammates with an intensity that would have been frightening had the other two known of it. As it was, the lazy female, Hikari Nara, and the quiet Itachi Uchiha remained unaware of the intense scrutiny. Hikari was ten, a full two years older than Itachi and himself. Suo found himself feeling sorry for whoever ended up with them. All three of them were quiet individuals. He turned towards the door as someone stepped inside. It wasn't so much the fact it was a person, it was the size. He knew even before the teacher spoke that it was an Akimichi.  
"Doto Akimichi, Team 13, your Sensei is here."  
"Troublesome." Hikari groaned as the trio got up and followed their new Sensei outside. He led the way to a nearby restaunrant and they all sat down. A waitress immediately came by and took their orders, not bothering with Doto's. Though this was an Akimichi restaurant, he was most likely a regular with an well-known order. When the waitress moved off Doto turned back to them.  
"I am Doto Akimichi, I like food and training with my Bo. My hobbies are trying new foods. My dream is to make my Clan proud. Now, you three go, ladies first."  
Hikari sighed, head down on the table as she spoke.  
"Hikari Nara. I like naps and shogi. My hobbies are tending to the deer in my Clan grounds. My dream is to live an average life, and to make Chunin so that my Mother will let me nap more often."  
"Itachi Uchiha. I like Pokie and peaceful times. My hobbies are training with my little brother and reading. My dream is to keep my village safe and to have a peaceful world."  
Suo 'glanced' at Itachi contemplatively.  
"My name is Suo Aburame. I like playing shogi and dango. My hobbies are training and tending to my Hive. My dream is to help all of my Clan's Hives to gain immunity to Bijuu Chakra, to make it to Jonin, and to make the world a peaceful place."  
Doto looked between his team with a happy expression.  
"It is good that you have such dreams. Many graduates are more concerned with small things, such as gaining recognition for some great task, or gaining someone's approval and attention. You three have chosen dreams that you can work toward. This is good."  
The waitress brought them their food and Doto made small talk with them as they ate. When the last of the dishes had been cleared away he spoke to them again.  
"Graduating from the Academy tells older Shinobi that you have the skills to begin a career as Shinobi. However, you are not yet true Shinobi of Konohagakure. There is one last test you must take. Each Jonin tests their team to decide if they are ready to be Shinobi. So now, I will give my test to you. Hidden around the village are fourteen golden marbles. In order to pass my test you must find five of them and bring them back to me. If you fail in this task, you will be sent back to the Academy. You will have until dawn to find and bring them to me at Training Ground 3 by the Memorial Stone."  
Doto was just about to stand up when Suo spoke.  
"Then I forfeit. I will not become a Shinobi at the cost of my comrades. Even should we find all 14 marbles, someone will fail. I refuse."  
Itachi nodded in agreement.  
"I refuse as well."  
"Troublesome, I refuse too. My Mother will just have to deal."  
Doto stared at them all for a full five minutes, the trio beginning to squirm slightly under the stare before he smiled.  
"You all pass, I will see you tommorow at the Memorial Stone, at dawn. Though I still expect you to have all 14 marbles."  
He grinned at the trio of groans before the Genin scattered in search of the ellusive marbles.

* * *

Suo was leaning sleepily against his teammates, slumped a few feet from the Memorial Stone, as dawn crested the horizon. It had taken till midnight to find the marbles. The trio had simply decided to wait it out at the Memorial Stone so they wouldn't be late. Now, five hours later, they woke to an amused chuckle from Doto-sensei. He was standing next to the stone and carrying a large basket which he set down on the ground.  
"It is good to see that you are punctual. Do you have the marbles?"  
Itachi pointed to a small bag sitting on the stone. Doto picked it up and counted the marbles before pocketing the bag. He sat down and opened the basket before pulling out three regular sized bento boxes and one large one. The trio politely accepted the food and began to eat. Suo was under the impression that breakfast with their Sensei was goingto become a tradition. When they were finished he walked them through a morning routine before teaching them drills. It was during their free for all sparring session that Hikari got frustrated of throwing off Itachi's genjutsu that she rounded on Suo.  
"I am not that bad at dispelling Genjutsu, but you act like they aren't even there! How?!"  
Suo blinked before sheepishly scratching his head, inadvertantly knocking off his hood to reveal his crimson colored hair. With a sigh he pulled off his goggles to reveal blacked out eyes. Hikari stomped forward and leaned close enough that Suo could feel her breath on his face. Her voice, when she finally spoke, was hesitant.  
"Are you blind?"  
"Hai."  
She took the time to chew that over.  
"Then how do you take tests?"  
With a slight smirk hidden behind his jacket he lifted a hand to reveal a Kikaichu.  
"They see just fine."  
"Oh, so that's how you get around too, right?"  
Suo shook his head. The first Kikaichu disappeared and a Hibiku peaked out of his sleeve. It was hardly larger than a flee and bright silver.  
"These are Hibiku, or 'Echo' bugs. They use Echolocation, and as such, transfer the information back to me. I 'see' through them. I, myself, can also use Echolocation Jutsu, but the Hibiku are much quieter, and their use cannot be sensed."  
Itachi stepped forward with his own question.  
"They tell you where we are?"  
"Yes and no. I am highly Chakra Sensitive. I am a Level 5 Sensor."  
"Huh." Hikari muttered. Itachi nodded as well before backing away. He returned to his side of the clearing, tossing a last question over his shoulder.  
"I believe that the Aburame can disturb sensor abilities."  
"That is why I have the Hibiku."  
The other two let it go with an accepting nod of the head and the training resumed.

\- To be continued...


End file.
